Impact of global warming on biodiversity
Further reading
August 2010
The Science of Climate change: Questions and Answers.
A summary document produced by the Australian Academy of Science to improve the public understanding of climate change science and outline its implications.
June 2009, pages 33-36
Endangered endemics (by Joanne Isaac)
Outlines the potential impact of climate change on Australia’s tropical rainforest species.
October 2008, pages 31-32
Saving species from climate change (by Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and colleagues)
Outlines a strategy for controlling loss of biodiversity due to climate change.
November/December 2007, pages 34-36
Some like it hot (by Mariana Fuentes)
Reports on changes to gender ratios of turtles due to global warming.
August 2007, page 11
Climate change increases biodiversity
Reports on findings which suggest warmer conditions will lead to a bloom in biodiversity.
January-February 2005, pages 32-34.
Flies reveal genetic responses to climate (by Ary Hoffmann)
Tracks genetic changes behind the ability of vinegar flies to cope with climatic stresses.
October 2004, pages 37-39
Botanical records reveal changing seasons in a warming world (by Malcolm Clark and Roy Thompson)
Examines how global warming is shifting the times that flowering plants bloom.
April 2004, pages 23-25
Time's almost up for the Great Barrier Reef (by Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and Hans Hoegh-Guldberg)
A scientist and an economist give the Great Barrier Reef 50 years to live.
March 2004, pages 36-37
Greenhouse gases fuel photosynthesis too (by Derek Eamus)
Outlines the ecological and economic consequences of climate change on plant growth.
20 March 2009
Global warming leaves mark on polar bears
Covers the effects of melting sea ice on polar bears.
23 January 2009
Climate killing trees twice as fast (by Holly Hight)
Reports on the loss of trees in temperate forests due to climate change.
15 May 2008
Climate makes profound mark on ecosystems
Comments on a study into the effect of global warming on ecosystems.
August-September 2007, pages 38-39
Fanatical for fungi (by Clare Hudson)
Reports on amateur study which revealed insights into climate change.
October-November 2006, pages 96-100
Forests in the clouds (by Michael Tennesen)
Looks at the potential impact of global warming on the cloud forests of the Andes.
No. 154, 2010, page 14
Supporting rainforest biodiversity in a changing climate(by Jo Isaac)
Reports on the use of climate refuges to maintain rainforest biodiversity.
No. 153, 2010, pages 16-19
This issue includes the following Focus articles on biodiversity and climate change:
Protecting biodiversity in an uncertain climate
Global hotspot under stress(by Andrew Burbidge)
No. 146, 2009, page 28
The heat is on Australian fisheries and Antarctic krill stocks
Announces a report on the impacts of climate change on fisheries and marine ecosystems.
No. 127, 2005, pages 16-19
Natural services open for business (by Steve Davidson)
Discusses efforts to acknowledge the value of ecosystem services by ‘commoditising’ them.
1 May 2005, pages 388-392
Landscape fragmentation, biodiversity loss and the societal response (by Ilkka Hanski)
Describes the long-term consequences of our use of natural resources.
E – The Environmental Magazine
January/February 2010
The way of the possum (by William Laurance)
Describes the near-extinction of a tropical species (the white possum) in response to global warming.
13 April 2006, pages 860-863
Plant science: Gardens in full bloom (by Emma Marris)
Discusses the role of botanical gardens in preserving plant biodiversity.
16 February 2006
Calls to conserve biodiversity hotspots (by David Cyranoski)
Looks at efforts to conserve the biodiversity of Indonesia.
8 January 2004, pages 107-109
Clouded futures (by J. Alan Pounds and Robert Puschendorf)
Describes how global warming is changing the distribution and abundance of plant and animal species.
17 May 2008, page 10
Life feels the effects of changing climate (by Fred Pearce)
Describes the effects of climate change on ecosystems.
3 October 2007, pages 46-49
Assisted migration: Helping nature to relocate (by Bob Holmes)
Explores the idea of assisted migration of plant and animal species.
7 April 2007, page 9
Snow goose invasion points to Arctic thaw (by Phil McKenna)
Covers the increase in the number of geese in Washington state caused by global warming.
21 February 2007
Male turtle populations crashing in the heat (by Catherine Brahic)
Looks at the gender imbalance created by a rise in sand temperature.
14 October 2006, pages 36-41
Earth without humans (by Bob Holmes)
Looks at how long man’s impact would be felt if humans disappeared from the Earth tomorrow.
16 September 2006, page 8
Last chance to stop plant catastrophe (by Duncan graham-Rowe)
Looks at the possibility of global warming leading to a mass extinction of plants.
2 May 2006
New Red List paints a bleak picture of extinction (by Duncan Graham-Rowe)
According to the latest Red List, two out of every five species assessed face extinction.
14 January 2006, page 12
Doomsday vault to avert world famine (by Fred Pearce)
Describes a scheme to store seed from all known varieties of food crops for safe-keeping.
10 December 2005, pages 50-53
From the forest floor (by Charlie Pye-Smith)
Describes how researchers are asking locals the value of parts of their environment.
5 February 2005, page 10
Should we save Earth's biodiversity hotspots? (by Bob Holmes)
Questions the value of saving the areas known as biodiversity hotspots.
9 September 2004
Threatened species total 'hugely underestimated' (by Emma Young)
Suggests that the number of threatened species is underestimated because of species interdependence.
14 August 2004, page 9
Corals adapt to cope with global warming (by Jeff Hecht)
Suggests that corals are adapting to warmer temperatures by taking on new heat-tolerant algal partners.
7 January 2004
Global warming threatens millions of species (by Shaoni Bhattacharya)
Provides evidence that one in four land animals and plants will be extinct by 2050.
Winter 2006, page 9
Herring in warming waters
Reports that climate change may cause herring to reproduce less often.
A collection of articles on ecosystem services and biodiversity is available.
January 2006
Ordering the chaos of life
Describes the ‘Catalog of Life’, a directory of all living things.
16 February 2009
Climate change erodes marine reserves (by Andrew McGlashen)
Comments on the effects of climate change on fisheries and marine biodiversity.
27 October 2008
Is focusing on 'hot spots' the key to preserving biodiversity? (by Robert Kunzig)
Calls for new strategies to help preserve biodiversity threatened by global warming and other threats.
September 2005, pages 44-51
Sustaining the variety of life (by Stuart Pimm and Clinton Jenkins)
Looks at the unprecedented extinction rate and discusses incentives to preserve species diversity.
January 2004, pages 74-81
Spring forward (by Daniel Grossman)
Describes how earlier spring warming affects interaction between species.
Page updated August 2010.